Urban Tech Promotes Good Nutrition through GHGS

A New York-based financial executive with over 15 years of experience in equity research and sales, Janina Casey frequently gives back to her community. Janina Casey has not only mentored and sponsored two students through four years of private school, but she also serves on the Board of the National Urban Technology Center (Urban Tech).

A social enterprise, Urban Tech maintains numerous programs focused on helping students see their value to society. One of the organization’s programs includes Get Healthy, Get Smart! (GHGS), a holistic wellness program implemented in middle and high schools in New York City. It is designed to teach students about childhood obesity and the leading causes of cancer, diabetes, and hypertension so they are better prepared to make healthy choices throughout their lives.

Based on nearly two decades of research and development, GHGS employs Ajzen’s Theory of Planned Behavior to help adolescents change their health-related behavior and addresses students’ personal development, self-esteem, and awareness of good nutrition. Over the years, Urban Tech has implemented GHGS at 32 schools in Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Brooklyn and encouraged parents and teachers to play an active role in keeping students healthy through professional development and outreach.

According to evaluation data, 100 percent of teachers involved in the program observed a decrease in antisocial behaviors and an increase in attendance among their students. Meanwhile, 66 percent of students involved in the program reported a stronger understanding of how their future health is affected by what they eat, and 71 percent stated they now had a clear understanding of how nutrition and health relate to one another.